The new 250cc 4 stroke gasgas has a yamaha engine,, if that is what your thinking,, The R&D has been working on a new 250cc mill for some time and instead of holding up the bike they opted for the yamaha engine for a couple years till they get thier own 250cc Fi 4stroker sorted out.. Just didnt want to miss the boat in the 250 class sales till the engine is done.. The desert is their own 450 mill fi,, and the newer models have been very good.. but it is still a race bike,, with race bike maint.. would I like one you bet!,, if I had that option over the similar priced 530 exc.. which is like 10k.. this is 10,500ish.. and has better top end.. kinda makes me want to give up the lc4..

To those of you worried about a high strung 450 i put 2k plus on my 450 EXC 2009 model commuting 75 mph easy oil changes were frequent but I never had a valavle adjustment and never lost comppresion I checked at every oil change it was a great commuter bike but I sold it because the 2011 promises to have major changes including a linkage. I also put 800 trail miles never a mechanical problem other than then the documented headligh bulb burn out problem. IF I dont pick this up the price is similar to a mecasystems fairing for my KTM I may go that route and I plan to ride socal to alaska with a renazco seat I dont see any comfort issues but I have my eye on this.

That has been posted before but it is not known whether it is an experiment or production if it was production then I would really be interested if it made it to the states, just a thought or more of a question my EXC had a 19" front wheel and the GAS GAS has an 18" any advantages or disadvantages to the wheel size?

Front tire is 21" not 18",, your thinking rear? 18 is better offroad than the 19. MX bikes usually have 19" rear wheels. The 18" has a better/stronger rim for bashing with rocks and severe abuse where the 19" can damage easier.. Most who have run 19" rear offroad have not had issue,, can you yes, but I have seen them damaged easier in the Pa rocks,, all how much you want to spend repairing.. The KTM exc should have had a 18" rear, the SX is the only one that had a 19" probably was swapped out either at the factory or dealer by accident or ??
The only bikes I can think of using a 19" front are some of the BMW dakars, cross country and some of the big adv bikes.. but regular dirtbikes,, not any full sized modern offroaders I can think of..

Really? From what I understand there were quite a few pre-orders, from both the racing and the ADV crowds, even at the $10k asking price. It had all of the bases covered, including being street legal. With such a good start, modifications to meet either objective would have made the total cost "acceptable" compared, for example, with a fully modified KTM 690.

GasGas apparently has two separate sets of retail distributors in the USA: one for the Trials bikes, and one for all of the others. Those distributors were rumored to have had some "trouble" with the "Desert" concept. And the factory didn't know what to make of the "mixed" feedback they were getting at the time (fall '09). My local dealer couldn't get a response from factory, so I think it was a very complex set of circumstances that kept GasGas from trying to import the bike.

Given the complete dearth of quality, street-legal 450cc platforms that I could use as a high-end ADV platform, I'd still take one if the factory could get its act together. The Japanese seem blind to the huge gap between 250cc and 650cc platforms. I'm about to give up hope with KTM's not being licensed in Washington State, and coming in now with 300cc machines. I even like the Husky TE310, but One More Time: I need a quality 450cc ADV platform, please!

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What I stated was the situation. The desert bike was never being officially released here in the US. That said I believe it may still be possible to special order one. But the gg 450/515 were not a major seller and at this jucture they(the us based distributor) is focusing on the enduro racing bikes. The new 125-300 line is the best they have ever been. That and the new US distributor has grown the dealer network to over 50 dealers in the short time he has had the reigns. He is no newcomer,, he has been with KTM and husaberg for years and is now his own distribution company. Check out the gasgas owners forum. Clay Stuckey is on the board and can answer the questions. Also the demanding dot testing gg never did get thier 4strokes dot legal. Too costly for a small company. If things keep growing like they are I believe that will change quickly.